Diversity Initiatives

LAAC supports efforts to increase diversity in the legal profession, and we focus much of our energy on increasing diversity in the legal services community. Below are some helpful resources for advocates, attorneys, and executive directors.

A Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion and Racial Justice Toolkit for Civil Legal Aid Organizations
Launched in January of 2021, the IDEAL Toolkit exists as a resource for pursuing DEI and Racial Justice work. We aspire to have it live as an active document to ultimately encompass varying policies, models, and procedures that uplift and support DEI/Racial Justice work in our organizations. If you have any questions about the IDEAL Toolkit, please do not hesitate to contact Theo Ser-Ramin <tser-ramin@laaconline.org> or Reann Pacheco <rpacheco@laaconline.org>

If would like to offer feedback or suggestions for future versions of the Toolkit, please do so through this survey

Shaping the Future of Justice: Effective Recruitment and Retention of Civil Legal Aid Attorneys in California
In 2010, LAAC published a recruitment and retention report of CA legal aid attorneys. Though the report was not designed to collect extensive diversity statistics, there are interesting stats within the report.

List of Outreach Ideas for Recruiting Diverse Candidates (2015)
In partnership with other organizations, LAAC created a list of bar associations and other outlets to use to announce openings in legal services offices. Organizations must start with a diverse candidate pool to be able to hire a qualified candidate, and we hope these ideas create a diverse pool.

List of Outreach Ideas for Recruiting Diverse Candidates Bar Associations:

CA State Bar List of Minority Bar Associations

San Francisco Bay Area Minority Bar Coalitions 

Multicultural Bar Alliance of Southern California 

LGBT Bar Associations:  

National:

The LGBT Bar

LGBT Bar’s Annual Lavender Law Career Fair  

National Trans Bar Association

Los Angeles:

LGBTQ+ Lawyers Association of Los Angeles

Sacramento:

Sacramento Lawyers for the Equality of Gays and Lesbians  

San Diego:

Tom Homann Law Association  

San Francisco:

Bay Area Lawyers for Individual Freedom  

Santa Rosa:

LGBT Law Section of the Sonoma County Bar Association

Disability Bar Associations:  

Disability Rights Bar Association

National Association of Attorneys with Disabilities 

Women’s Bar Associations:  

California Women Lawyers

Queen’s Bench Bar Association (San Francisco) 

Ethnic Minority Bar Associations:

African American:  

National Bar Association

Charles Houston Bar Association (Northern CA)

John M. Langston Bar Association of LA

Native American:  

National Native American Bar Association 

California Indian Law Association

Hispanic/Latino:  

Hispanic National Bar Association 

La Raza Lawyers of California

La Raza Lawyers- chapters in San Francisco, San Diego, Santa Clara  

Orange County Hispanic Bar Association  

Mexican American Bar Association

Asian/Pacific Islander:  

National Asian Pacific American Bar Association

Asian American Bar Association of the Greater Bay Area

Korean American Bar Association of Southern California

Asian Pacific American Bar Association (APABA) Los Angeles  

Southern California Chinese Lawyers Association (SCCALA)

Arab American Lawyers of Southern California

Law School Student Organizations (contact each law school so they can circulate to alumni):

Asian Pacific American Law Students Association 

Black Law Students Association

– La Raza (multiple)

– Middle Eastern and South Asian Law Students Association (multiple)

Muslim Law Students Association

Filipino Law Students Association

Native American Law Students Association

National Association of Law Students with Disabilities

Association of Law Students for Disability Rights (Univ. of San Francisco School of Law)

– Women’s Law Association (multiple)

Lambda Law Students Association (multiple)

OUTLAW (Stanford Law)

Other:

Idealist

Public Service Jobs Directory (PSJD)

LAAC Legal Aid Job Posting page